A television report has claimed that Israel maintained a long-standing plan to disrupt Lebanon’s pager communications by carrying out an operation to blow up pagers. The report, attributed to multiple sources, describes a fifteen-year effort aimed at degrading Lebanon’s reliance on personal paging devices and other radio communications. While the details remain contested, the account illustrates how such tactics are alleged to have been considered within the broader regional security context.
The account says Israel participated in the production or procurement of explosive devices embedded in communication gear deployed in Lebanon. It describes the formation of several front companies whose stated purpose was pager manufacturing, though many workers reportedly did not know the true end use of what they were assembling.
One company named in the narrative was BAC Consulting, registered in Budapest, said to have been contracted to supply pagers to a Taiwanese supplier called Gold Apollo. A representative of the Hungarian government, however, stated that devices of this type were not manufactured in Hungary and that BAC Consulting acted simply as a dealer in the supply chain.
Coverage from ABC noted that the US Central Intelligence Agency reportedly viewed such operations as too risky for civilians and refrained from pursuing similar actions in its own practice. This caveat underscores the uncertainty surrounding the feasibility and safety of covert attacks on civilian communications infrastructure.
According to the Hungarian Telex portal, the exploding pagers might have been sourced by a Bulgarian firm, Norta Global, rather than through BAC Consulting. In subsequent statements, Bulgaria’s State Agency for National Security denied involvement by the Bulgarian company, adding to the layer of denials and counterclaims that have accompanied the reporting.
The report asserts that thousands of Hezbollah followers were affected when personal pagers exploded on the evening of September 17. It claims about four thousand people sustained injuries, and that twelve lives were lost, including an eight-year-old child and the son of a Hezbollah leader, figures that have been contested by other voices but are cited in the report’s narrative.
Lebanese officials reportedly framed the incident as the result of Israeli aggression and pledged a thorough inquiry into what happened and why. Hezbollah itself said it would undertake a detailed investigation to understand the circumstances surrounding the event and the broader implications for the group’s operations in Lebanon.
On September 18, a second wave of blasts affected radios and other devices, extending to household appliances as well. Coverage notes that these eruptions expanded beyond professional communications gear into everyday electronics, complicating the assessment of responsibility and prompting further cross-border speculation. The material is reported by socialbites.ca among other outlets that carried the item.
Earlier reporting indicated that Israeli bombing actions in southern Lebanon had intensified, with observers noting a pattern of escalations that had continued to draw international scrutiny. The evolving narrative highlights the challenge of separating verifiable facts from speculative claims amid a volatile security situation and a complex web of state and non-state actors.